in which Nick Experiments: Razor Blades: Personna Double Edge
First up in the text are Personna Platinum Double Edge blades. They are packed in a cardboard box, and each of the 5 blades is individually wrapped in wax paper. Each blade is labeled with the brand, which is a nice change. They are also apparently called "Red Israeli" blades, which is confusing given that the Crystal's are called "Israeli's" too. Eh.
Value:
I found 100 blades for $10 with $1.95 shipping, so that's about $0.12 a blade. Which is kind of ridiculously cheap - Amazon's price is nearly DOUBLE that.
Lethality:
Quite good, all told - a little burn each day, and a few minor cuts. Nothing unexpected or requiring a stypic.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 8 - Nice little bleeder on the chin, little burn.
06/08 - 9 - Very minor cuts about the chin.
06/09 - 10 - Nothing, very nice indeed.
06/11 - 9 - A little burn.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 9.0
Effectiveness:
Really, it wasn't a bad shave overall - the blade does well on the flat/smooth areas, and but the detail work seems a level beyond it. Still, it behaved really well until day 4's spectacular fail.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 8 - An alright shave - a little stubbly on the jawline, but not bad overall.
06/08 - 7 - Not a great shave - my chin was pretty stubbly in the end, but the neck/checks were fine.
06/09 - 9 - Surprisingly nice, given the state of the blade - very smooth, with only a little rough edges near the chin.
06/11 - 4 - A truly shitty shave. Amazingly poor - rampant stubble left over. I needed 1-2 more passes at least.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 7.0
Wear and Tear:
This is regardless to feel of the blade, but rather based on appearance after the shave. Assumption is that a 10 is the blade fresh from packaging.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 10 - Looks factory fresh after the shave.
06/08 - 7 - Ugh. Big dents/dull patches.
06/09 - 7 - Same as 6/8. Weird.
06/11 - 2 - WOW. This would not have been used were it not for this experiment.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 6.5
Subjective - Feel of Shave:
This is intended for a 'feel' metric DURING the shave.
Not a terribly bad shave, but there was a sudden drop in sharpness on day's 2 and 4 that really impacted the feel.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 8 - Not bad, not great.
06/08 - 6 - Significant drop in feel, likely due to the blade's wear and tear.
06/09 - 9 - Ironically, it feels great despite the blade's continued wear/tear.
06/11 - 5 - Crappy. It worked as a lathe more than anything.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 7.0
Subjective - Feel of Face:
This is intended for a 'feel' metric AFTER the shave.
The blade wasn't that great, all told, on getting a good run at the hair just under the skin. I stubbled up pretty early, and the first 2 shaves left my face feeling quite tacky even after the shave cream. Stubble was present on most days, with 6/11 being the worst.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 7 - Eh. Tacky.
06/08 - 7 - More tacky than 6/5, maybe? Not great.
06/09 - 9 - Minor stubble on the chin, but otherwise great.
06/11 - 3 - Rampant stubble, burn, and tackiness. Crap!
OVERALL AVERAGE - 6.5
Subjective - The Ladies:
Laurel's a sleepy thing in the morning, so I'm not sure how constant her scale is. She liked Day 2 better than Day 3 (which I did not, mind), but recognized Day 4 for the crap that it was. So that's nice?
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 7 - Cuts, chin stubble.
06/08 - 8 - Chin crap, but checks/neck good.
06/09 - 7 - "Not as good as Monday." Really?
06/11 - 4 - "Wow, that's really bad."
OVERALL AVERAGE - 6.5
Overall Score (out of 60) - 42.5
Overall, the blades were OK - good for long flat stretches, kinda crap for detail work. On my stubbility, they only seem to last 2-3 shaves, which sort of makes sense given their pricing. Quality-wise, their packaging is crap but the blades themselves were nice and utility-grade constant. As opposed to the Crystal's, at least when Personna's didn't like to hurt me - even on Day 4's nosedive.
Verdict:
Eh. They're not bad, but they're not very good either. I suspect they'd make ok 'everyday' blades so long as you didn't mind replacing them twice a week, but I feel like there are better shaves. Maybe not for the money, though.
Value:
I found 100 blades for $10 with $1.95 shipping, so that's about $0.12 a blade. Which is kind of ridiculously cheap - Amazon's price is nearly DOUBLE that.
Lethality:
Quite good, all told - a little burn each day, and a few minor cuts. Nothing unexpected or requiring a stypic.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 8 - Nice little bleeder on the chin, little burn.
06/08 - 9 - Very minor cuts about the chin.
06/09 - 10 - Nothing, very nice indeed.
06/11 - 9 - A little burn.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 9.0
Effectiveness:
Really, it wasn't a bad shave overall - the blade does well on the flat/smooth areas, and but the detail work seems a level beyond it. Still, it behaved really well until day 4's spectacular fail.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 8 - An alright shave - a little stubbly on the jawline, but not bad overall.
06/08 - 7 - Not a great shave - my chin was pretty stubbly in the end, but the neck/checks were fine.
06/09 - 9 - Surprisingly nice, given the state of the blade - very smooth, with only a little rough edges near the chin.
06/11 - 4 - A truly shitty shave. Amazingly poor - rampant stubble left over. I needed 1-2 more passes at least.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 7.0
Wear and Tear:
This is regardless to feel of the blade, but rather based on appearance after the shave. Assumption is that a 10 is the blade fresh from packaging.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 10 - Looks factory fresh after the shave.
06/08 - 7 - Ugh. Big dents/dull patches.
06/09 - 7 - Same as 6/8. Weird.
06/11 - 2 - WOW. This would not have been used were it not for this experiment.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 6.5
Subjective - Feel of Shave:
This is intended for a 'feel' metric DURING the shave.
Not a terribly bad shave, but there was a sudden drop in sharpness on day's 2 and 4 that really impacted the feel.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 8 - Not bad, not great.
06/08 - 6 - Significant drop in feel, likely due to the blade's wear and tear.
06/09 - 9 - Ironically, it feels great despite the blade's continued wear/tear.
06/11 - 5 - Crappy. It worked as a lathe more than anything.
OVERALL AVERAGE - 7.0
Subjective - Feel of Face:
This is intended for a 'feel' metric AFTER the shave.
The blade wasn't that great, all told, on getting a good run at the hair just under the skin. I stubbled up pretty early, and the first 2 shaves left my face feeling quite tacky even after the shave cream. Stubble was present on most days, with 6/11 being the worst.
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 7 - Eh. Tacky.
06/08 - 7 - More tacky than 6/5, maybe? Not great.
06/09 - 9 - Minor stubble on the chin, but otherwise great.
06/11 - 3 - Rampant stubble, burn, and tackiness. Crap!
OVERALL AVERAGE - 6.5
Subjective - The Ladies:
Laurel's a sleepy thing in the morning, so I'm not sure how constant her scale is. She liked Day 2 better than Day 3 (which I did not, mind), but recognized Day 4 for the crap that it was. So that's nice?
Daily Scores (of 10):
06/05 - 7 - Cuts, chin stubble.
06/08 - 8 - Chin crap, but checks/neck good.
06/09 - 7 - "Not as good as Monday." Really?
06/11 - 4 - "Wow, that's really bad."
OVERALL AVERAGE - 6.5
Overall Score (out of 60) - 42.5
Overall, the blades were OK - good for long flat stretches, kinda crap for detail work. On my stubbility, they only seem to last 2-3 shaves, which sort of makes sense given their pricing. Quality-wise, their packaging is crap but the blades themselves were nice and utility-grade constant. As opposed to the Crystal's, at least when Personna's didn't like to hurt me - even on Day 4's nosedive.
Verdict:
Eh. They're not bad, but they're not very good either. I suspect they'd make ok 'everyday' blades so long as you didn't mind replacing them twice a week, but I feel like there are better shaves. Maybe not for the money, though.